Deciding Between ABS and Non ABS Swift / Dzire


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Time in for a new vehicle and the list never seems to be the complete without mention of Swift / Dzire.

Before jumping on to the budget, the first thing that shakes up on chosing the variant is Vxi /Zxi o Vdi / Zdi.

The main deciding factor seems to be brakes in swift/Dzire.

Searching all over the internet, it looks like swift/Dzire has some strange issues when it comes to braking.

1. Low speeds with half cluth, teh compalint people have is brakes tend to become hard when pressed a few times.
2. High speed brakes never inspire confidence and also have the issue of wheel lockup's.

Though it is not confirmed if the ABS + EBD takes care of these issues completely, the lower end seem to suffer from the above two mentioned issues.

A difference of 1 Lac, though can be justified for the features the V ad Z variants offer, my query is directed towards TAI'ns who actually own the L/V varaints in diesel/ petrol and share their experience.

If L/V varaints do suffer from these above mentioned issues, is there a workaround and is it better to just for the Z variant.

I would lilke to iterate that Iam not trying to jsutify if 1 lac of premium for Z is valid, my query is purely from brakes performance.
 
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Re: Deciding between ABS and non ABS Swift/Dzire

Buddy seatbelts and ABS,both are the biggest safety feature in any car and hence my reply is simple "ABS equipped car any day".
 
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Re: Deciding between ABS and non ABS Swift/Dzire

If you have the budget, why not buy the better equipped and safer ZXi/ZDi?

Money can be earned later, life cant. So there is no question about which is better.
 
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TAI'ians, I do agree with your point of view, but this still leaves a question open.

Is the issue being discussed of poor brakes true?
Has anyone actually experienced it ?
What guarantees that the issue doesnt exist in Zdi?

Few things do add up, like EBD, which can cause wheel locking in high speed braking scanrio needs ABS to compensate for its flaws.
 
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Some people have complained that the brakes do feel week, many owners dont have a problem.

ZXi/ZDi is said to have a bigger brake booster and hence the problem seems to be only with the lower variants.

EBD is an advanced form of ABS. EBD is not compensated by ABS. EBD complements ABS.
 
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@ssk3g

Do not ever try to compromise safety feature(s) for a few thousand rupees. Like a saying goes... you can earn money all your life, but you cannot get your life back once it's gone! I am a first time car buyer and even though my budget was less, i stretched it a little more and bought a car which has ABS. From your posts, looks like you are a long time car owner. Go for whatever car with highest safety features available in your budget. If possible, increase your budget. It may add a 1000 or 2000 rupees extra to your EMI, but it definitely makes sense to buy a car with ABS, Airbags, TCS, ESP etc. Lastly, i cannot comment on poor brakes in swift/dzire because i do not own them nor have i driven them.
 
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Do not opt for LDI or VDi options, you cant compare few lacs with your life, I have a swift Zdi, i can say with confidence that ABS saved my life, when in Rainy, pot holed road a Toyota travelling at 70kms per hour brakes to zero without parking light, and i had fairly 80 feet clearence and had michelin tyres
 
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The L and V variants have mediocre brakes while the Z variants have good brakes (something to do with brake boost available on Z and not in V and L). If you can, and you must, go for the Z variants simply because of the added safety features. After all, money is not a replacement for safety. Stretching a bit here can, who knows, help you get out alive (if ever needed, god forbid) in a very critical situation!
 
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Personal experience- I used to own a Swift DZire VDI from 2008 to 2011. No ABS, airbags.
Great car, fantastic MJD, good pickup etc..But, in retrospect, the stopping performance was a bit iffy.
And car used to swing to either the left or the right, by about 10-20 deg, upon urgent braking from 60-0. Inspite of wheel alignment, balancing and tyre adjustments, never really got rid of this problem. Although, I must add, the braking response was quite good. I sometimes attributed it to the rather extra-light steering that caused this tendency of the heavy (diesel engine) front to waver.
But when I moved the the Linea TJet with all-disc brakes, ABS+EBD, I realized that the stopping capability of that car is simply on another planet. It stops like a 10 ton elephant has just pulled it up from the rear..and no instability either, just arrow straight, thanks to the weighted steering.
So, yes, Swift/Dzire are known to have issues in this particular department.
 
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As the other members said, safety comes first. go with ABS. But please in mind, ABS doesn't decrease braking distance. It provides you control by stopping the vehicle from skidding or fish tailing.

A wheels which losses traction and begins to slide will have less stopping force than a tire which is still in static contact with the road. Abs stops wheels from locking up and sliding, maintaining static friction at all times

Without abs, the wheels would begin to skid if applied hard enough, increasing the stopping distance. But abs has no effect on stopping distance in situations where the brakes are not applied heavily enough to break traction.
 
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I own a Swift Vxi and I would suggest you to go for Zxi/Zdi.

Firstly when talking of ABS you will feel the difference a lot. Indian roads mostly have unpaved left hand sides and when u have dirt/soil/mud below the left side tyre and right side tyre is on a good road then on hard braking u will feel the car turning a bit as the road side tyres stop and the mud ones don't. This is very common if u sometimes travel on two way roads. So prevent these type of things ABS is very useful. Even in rain it helps.

While talking of 1L price, its certainly not more than anyones life which is very well protected with airbags. You must go and check damaged vehicles in fatal accidents in any maruti service centre, you yourself will opt for Z version of the car. While it was for life risks but otherwise too the upgrades that you will get in Z variant are worth these specially start stop button, auto climate control etc.
 
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Strange are the ways of Maruti, after so many years of its launch despite over pricing the swift Dezire, and whopping sales figures(hence budget for the R&D, they are not providing safe brakes, a basic safety feature !!!


If at all, you are fond of MJD, why don't you go for other better MJD powered cars eg. Zest, Punto? If separate boot is not requirement, Punto EVO is really a VFM product, with most affordable prices of the spare parts.
Being based in bangalore, with best in class GC of EVO punto, negotiating the speed breakers won't be a problem and there fiat has better ASS network.
 
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